Male urinary incontinence can result from a variety of physical or mental dysfunctions. Radical prostatectomies, complications arising from open or transurethral prostatectomy, and trauma to the membranous urethra or bladder neck can all cause permanent or temporary incontinence in men. Neurogenic bladder dysfunction or benign prostatic hyperplasia can also cause urinary incontinence.
Male urinary incontinence affects more than two million men, and no completely reliable or acceptable surgical means exists for correction. Thus far, males wishing to prevent involuntary urine leakage have been relegated to one of two solutions: catheter-type collection devices or crude clamping means.
Several disadvantages exist with catheter-type devices. Such devices can easily leak, are often difficult to put on, and can be uncomfortable to wear and embarrassing to empty. Large urine spills result if the device slips off.
Clamping devices have other difficulties associated with them. In particular, such devices can cut off circulation to the glans, requiring the user to remove the clamp several times daily in order to allow proper blood flow. In addition to the pressure, the size and weight of these devices make them extremely uncomfortable to wear. Additionally, these devices do not always provide sufficient pressure to keep the urethra in a pinched or closed position because the corpus spongiosum is flexible, and allows the urethra some freedom of movement, even when clamped.
Therefore, it is important to provide a device that eliminates male incontinence, can be comfortably worn throughout the day, is easily applied and easily removed.
The present invention provides the aforementioned desirable characteristics while avoiding the undesirable characteristics of prior art devices.